Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to conveyor method and conveyor system for conveying and managing an inventory of food in a food preparation and bagging facility. The conveyor method and conveyor system is for moving a stream of product consisting of a large plurality of individual perishable food portions that spoil or stale with prolonged exposure to the facility environment.
Background of the Related Art
Product conveyor systems for use in the processing, preparation and packaging of food products and other products may include adjustable side-discharging flow control valves that can be selectively adjusted to separate an incoming stream of, for example, individual perishable food portions into two separated streams that are each directed to a separate area of the same facility. For example, a source stream of product consisting of a large plurality of individual food portions may be prepared and delivered, using a distribution conveyor, to an area of a processing facility in which a first portion of the source stream of the perishable food product is flavored with a first flavor of seasoning material while another, second portion of the source stream that is separated from the first portion of the stream, is flavored with a second flavor of seasoning material. It will be understood that a product such as, for example, potato chips, may be flavored in this manner in order to suit the diverse tastes of consumers. In order to provide a first portion of the source stream of the perishable food portions to a first seasoning station for application of the first seasoning material and a second portion of the source stream of the perishable food portions to a second seasoning station for application of the second seasoning material, the source stream of unflavored or “raw” perishable food portions must be split or separated into two (or more) smaller streams, each of which is a portion of the original source stream of the perishable food product. It will be understood that this is an efficient process that enables the demand for two (or more) differently seasoned products to be satisfied using a single source of the raw product to feed two (or more) seasoning stations that, in turn, feed weighing and packaging machines where bags of the product are weighed and sealed to prevent the food product from becoming stale due to prolonged exposure to the facility environment.
Adjustable flow control valves, variable flow control valves, proportional gates, and revolution gates are all terms that are used in referring to apparatuses that can be used to controllably separate a source stream into two or more portions. As applied to conveyor systems, these terms refer to apparatuses that enable the selective control of the portion of an incoming source stream of product that can be discharged from a distribution conveyor while retaining the remaining portion of the source stream on the distribution conveyor for movement to another valve or gate, or for movement to another station within the facility. These apparatuses, as they are used in connection with the separation and handling of perishable food products, will be referred to herein as adjustable flow control valves.
For example, a distribution conveyor can be used to move a source stream of perishable food product within a facility. A first adjustable flow control valve can be included within that distribution conveyor and used to discharge a controllable portion of an incoming source stream of the food product from the distribution conveyor and to a receiving conveyor for being conveyed to a first seasoning station in which a first seasoning material is applied, in a predetermined weight ratio, to the first portion of the source stream of the food product that is discharged from the distribution conveyor using the first adjustable flow control valve. That first portion of the source stream of the perishable food product that is seasoned with the first seasoning material at the first seasoning station may then be conveyed using a conveyor to a weighing and bagging machine in which the seasoned product is separated into discrete weight amounts of the seasoned product and sealed in bags for transport and sale to consumers.
The remaining portion of the source stream of the perishable food product that remains on the distribution conveyor and moves beyond the first adjustable flow control valve, i.e. the portion of the source stream of the perishable food product that enters the first adjustable flow control valve and that was not discharged from the distribution conveyor by the first adjustable flow control valve, will be moved by the distribution conveyor to one of: a final destination, a second adjustable flow control valve and a distal end of the distribution conveyor. It will be understood that the distribution conveyor may have a plurality of adjustable flow control valves, each of which is adjustable to vary the portion of the incoming stream of product that is discharged from that flow control valve. If the portion of the source stream of the perishable food product that remains on the distribution conveyor beyond the first adjustable flow control valve is moved along the distribution conveyor to a second adjustable flow control valve, then a second portion of the source stream of products can be discharged from the distribution conveyor by the second adjustable flow control valve, and the portion of the source stream of the perishable food product that remains on the distribution conveyor and that moves beyond the second adjustable flow control valve, i.e. the portion of the stream of product entering the second adjustable flow control valve that was not discharged from the distribution conveyor by either of the first or the second of the adjustable flow control valves, will remain on the distribution conveyor and move to one of a final destination, a third adjustable flow control valve and a distal end of the distribution conveyor. This pattern continues until: 1) all of the remaining stream of product on the distribution conveyor is discharged from the distribution conveyor by the aggregated adjustable flow control valves, or 2) there remains an undischarged portion of the original source stream, referred to herein as a “tail stream,” of the perishable food product at the distal end or terminus of the distribution conveyor. The tail stream is the undischarged portion of the original source stream that has passed through the one or more adjustable flow control valves of the distribution conveyor.
In some conventional facilities that flavor and package perishable foods, the tail stream is discarded, resulting in an unwanted waste of food product and an unwanted loss of potential revenue that would have otherwise been received for the sale of the discarded product. In other conventional facilities that flavor and package perishable foods, the tail stream is recirculated and mixed with the incoming “fresh” source stream to prevent waste. However, with food products that perish or stale with prolonged exposure to the facility environment prior to being packaged and sealed, the recirculation of the tail stream and the mixing of the tail stream with the “fresh” incoming source stream is not an acceptable practice because at least some of the individual food portions that make up the source stream may be recirculated two or more times. These excessively recirculated individual food portions may become very stale and unpleasant to consume due to prolonged exposure to the facility environment. Even a few of these stale food portions being mixed in with fresh food portions in a package of the food product can lead to consumer dissatisfaction.
What is needed is a conveyor method and a conveyor system that can be used to prevent prolonged exposure of a tail stream of individual food portions while, at the same time, preventing unwanted discarding and waste of the tail stream. What is needed is a conveyor method and a conveyor system that can effectively limit the amount of additional exposure that may occur as a result of recirculation and use of the tail stream from a distribution conveyor.